Donald Trump Wins US Presidency as the 47th President-Elect

Trump secured 277 electoral college votes against 224 by Kamala Harris to win the race for Oval Office. He would be sworn in as the 47th American President. Trump is the second U.S. president ever to return to the Oval Office after losing re-election four years earlier.

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris failed to secure either the 370 electoral votes or the popular votes. (Though the final figures are yet to be tallied). She is the second woman in American history to be a leading presidential candidate but unable to crash the glass ceiling. She could neither get to the 270 electoral college votes nor secure the popular votes. The first female presidential candidate, Hilary Clinton could not get the 270 electoral college votes but was able to secure the popular votes.

President-elect Trump declared after his emergence that “this is the greatest political movement of all time,” Trump said in his victory speech. “We have a country that needs help, and it needs it very badly.” He is the second U.S. president ever to return to the Oval Office after losing re-election four years earlier. (The first was Grover Cleveland in 1893.) To pull it off, Trump overcame a series of obstacles that might have derailed other candidates, including the bullet that bloodied his ear at a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania.

The just-concluded US elections could be described as dramatic, divisive, unusual, and abnormal for varied reasons. For a larger part of the campaigns, Harris and Trump remained in a dead heat in the polls, with both desperately trying to convince the undecided voters in seven key swing states. Differences between the two candidates were more pronounced onabortion, immigration, and the economy.

For Harris, it is a fight for reproductive freedom where women can make decisions about their bodies – not the government; a fight for affordable health care, childcare, and housing; a fight for lower costs and an economy that works for everyone; and a fight for decency and respect. Throughout the campaign, millions of her supporters from across the US poured their energy and excitement into her campaign.

Trump’s team is more focused on energizing his partisan base and reaching infrequent voters across the political spectrum who are frustrated by the country’s direction and looking for change. Trump framed his comments in recent days with a simple question that cuts across political lines: whether voters are better off now than they were four years ago at the end of his first term. While the nation was still in the throes of the pandemic when Trump left office, polls indicate that most voters are unhappy with the direction of the country today.

Trump’s supporters were celebrating a clear-cut win in what pre-election polls had suggested would be a tight race. It will take days for a final vote count, but Mr. Trump appeared on track to win not only the Electoral College but also the national popular vote. It was the best showing for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

The polls were deadlocked, as the two candidates went neck-and-neck since Harris joined the race and recorded a surge in the polls mid-summer. Towards the end of October, Harris regained more advantage among Hispanic people and widened her advantage among suburban women, while remaining strong in core groups including Black people. Trump pushed back in rural areas and among non-college white men and runs competitively among younger Americans

Harris’ Impressive Showing

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris gave a rousing speech on Tuesday, exactly one week to election day, in which she cautioned against electing her “unstable” rival for the US presidency, Donald Trump, into a position of “unchecked power” and urged Americans to usher in the “next chapter” as she spoke from the site in Washington DC where Trump addressed his supporters before an armed mob stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Kamala Harris urged Americans to write the “next chapter” for their country and reject Donald Trump’s chaos and division as she delivered a powerful closing argument to voters Tuesday against the glowing backdrop of the White House. She reminded voters of the danger that Trump poses to U.S. democracy; Harris’ remarks were designed to highlight her opponent’s record of prioritizing his interests instead of the nation’s. The Democratic vice president warned against Trump’s lust for “unchecked power” as she addressed a mass rally at the site where her Republican rival riled up a mob before the deadly January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol.

“Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say: That’s not who we are,” Harris said. “I pledge to be a president for all Americans — to always put country above party and self.”

But Americans picked their choice. It is former President Trump who was able to hold his ground despite all the dirty campaigns against him. He secured victory in most of the battleground states and made little inroads into traditional Democrat enclaves.

What to Expect from President Trump

Trump has vowed to stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and impose broad tariffs to generate revenue and boost American manufacturing. After Trump urged supporters in a speech there to “fight like hell,” many then marched on the iconic domed seat of government to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory, in an assault that left 140 police officers wounded and shocked the world.

President Trump addressed his supporters in the nation early Wednesday morning after earning more than 270 electoral votes, vowing he will lead the “golden age of America” after launching the “greatest political movement of all time.” 

“This was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond. And now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal,” Trump said just before 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

“We’re going to help our country here. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We are going to fix our borders. We are going to fix everything about our country, and we have made history for a reason tonight. And the reason is going to be just that. We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,” he added to cheers from the crowd. 

Trump said that he would lead the “golden age of America” upon his inauguration. “Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family, and your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you. And with every breath in my body, I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe, and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America. That is what we must have. This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,” he said. 

Vowing that he will protect U.S. workers and raise hundreds of billions in revenue, Trump wants to force companies who manufacture their products overseas to pay an across-the-board 10% tariff on all imports and a 60% tariff for products from China. He has pledged not to cut Medicare or Social Security benefits or to raise the age of eligibility. He has said he would end automatic citizenship for children born to immigrants on American soil and revive his “travel ban” aimed at Muslim-majority countries.

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